Aurangzeb terms Tax Asaan Scheme for traders a ‘paradigm shift’

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Tuesday termed the launch of the Tax Asaan Scheme for traders a “paradigm shift”, adding that the government had to start somewhere in its efforts to widen the tax net. In an interview on Geo News programme ‘Capital Talk’, Aurangzeb said: “We kept the tax rate at 1pc for traders because we have to start somewhere. However, it is part of a broader framework to expand the tax net, and we are moving in the right direction.” The finance minister elaborated that he was working on a “new operating model” for tax collection with “no human intervention”. He said that under the new scheme for traders, the discretionary powers of income tax officers would be limited. “There will be a Central Processing Unit that will monitor everything. We have comprehensive data. We have compiled data from third-party sources and tax records, on the basis of which we are examining the issues,” the finance minister said. He said the public had welcomed the budget and that the government’s goal was to accelerate economic growth. “We imposed taxes in FY2024-25 and FY2025-26. However, we have not introduced any new taxes this year.” He further said the government would instead focus on “enforcement and compliance”. “We have a digital product monitoring system; we initiated this in the sugar sector,” Aurangzeb said. “Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif asked us to implement it in the sugar sector because his family has businesses in the sector.” “Now we are moving into beverages, textiles and other sectors.” Upskilling freelancers The finance czar said Pakistani freelancers, who provide coding services for $10 to $12 per hour, could earn up to $250 per hour through upskilling in blockchain technology. “The Pakistani freelancing community, the third largest in the world, is earning $10 to $12 per hour for coding. Through upskilling or reskilling in blockchain technology, they can earn between $50 and $250 per hour.” He said the issue needed to be viewed in the cont